Monumental Moment for MobilizeU

MobilizeU, an international collegiate competition encouraging students to coordinate four weeks of campus environmental activism leading up to Earth Day 2012, is a new initiative piloted by EDN’s Earth Day University campaign and was first launched in January 2012. The MobilizeU Movement has grown extensively and at a much quicker pace than anyone could have predicted, and it is truly inspiring to see the enthusiastic response we have received from talented student environmental organizers, ready to mobilize their campus communities!

The contingent of schools participating in MobilizeU is extremely diverse. To date, we have students participating in 23 different countries around the world, spanning 6 continents – though we’re still waiting to register someone from Antarctica!

“Binny” is getting ready to be Mobilized at Wright State University. Posted by School Coordinator, Adam French.

Notably, we have very high participation from students in Africa: 17 universities in total from such countries as Nigeria, Togo and Egypt. We’ve also had an amazing response from students in Pakistan and India. In Pakistan, we now have 10 universities on board. In India, we’ve been working in close collaboration with our EDN-India team who has helped to successfully recruit 12 Indian universities.

In the United States, we’re pleased to be working with students from 61 universities. Participation in the U.S. really runs the gamut from large public state schools to small private liberal arts and community colleges. Almost every region of the country has notable representation, including UC Santa Cruz and UC Irvine on the West Coast, Walla Walla University and Willamette University in the Pacific Northwest, Texas Christian University and University of Central Florida in the South, Tufts University and Dartmouth College in the Northeast, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay and Indiana University Bloomington in the Midwest, and even University of Hawaii at Manoa in the Pacific.

A poster advertising an environmental photography contest at Yacambu University in Venezuela. Posted by Regional Coordinator Ana Davila.

With new universities joining the MobilizeU Movement each day, the Facebook Page is a bustling hub, as participating students introduce their campuses by sharing photos and updates documenting activism on their home campuses. Just under three weeks remain before the start of MobilizeU, and there is still time to register your campus! If you’re a student – sign up to be a School Coordinator for your university. If you know a student who might be interested, have them visit our website or contact MobilizeU@earthday.org for more information.